‘Oh No, Not A Job Order!’

SquirrelsJob orders are overrated. They are easy to acquire and a waste of time. Job orders provide a terrific false sense of security. In a word, job orders stink. You may ask, how can that be? Isn’t getting a job order a critical part of one’s success in our industry? How can you make placements, and as a result, money, without getting a job order first? The answer is, you can’t. The problem is that most job orders these days, be it direct hire, contract or contract to hire, go onto your office white board, only to die a slow, agonizing death. Fill ratios, not including VMS business, continue to spiral downwards.

Back in the 1990s every once in a while a job order would come through that would be a long shot at best to fill. We called them “purple squirrels.” Anyone who has any experience in the industry at all knows what I’m talking about. The hiring manager would tell you, “I need someone with eight years’ experience developing a particular software, who speaks Mandarin, and has lived in Walla Walla Washington.” After a few minutes of research, your recruiter would tell you that particular software itself has only been on the market for two years. Oh well, keep trying! Purple squirrels were much easier to deal with years ago because for every one you received, you also got several job orders that were much easier to fill. There really was “low hanging fruit” to go after.

PREMIUM CONTENT: US Growth Assessment: IT Staffing

The increasing use of VMS, outsourcing, internal recruiters, payroll services and traditional competition has made low hanging fruit in the IT staffing space a thing of the past. Hiring managers know very well that we really do work for free and if we’re lucky enough to stumble upon the “perfect” candidate, then, perhaps, the manager will proceed with an offer.

I’ve said it for years and I’ll continue to say it: less is more. I was recently speaking with an owner of a small IT staffing shop who had two recruiters in the office and one sourcer overseas. They had 67 “open orders” on their order board and could not figure out why they were not making any placements. The problem is that hiring managers, HR and talent acquisition folks continue to throw around job orders as if they are actually doing us a favor…

It’s not all bad news, however. There is a remedy for this problem and it’s called “client control.” In my next post, I’ll discuss what you can actually do to increase your fill ratios and really begin to separate yourself from all the “order takers” out there.

MORE: Candidate and client services in the forecast

Chris Cosmos

Chris Cosmos
Chris Cosmos is founder and managing director of Cosmos Sales Professional.

Chris Cosmos

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